Brotherly Bonding
by wittyplayonwords
Summary: In which Albus runs, James listen, stories are shared, and a Potter boy becomes a man.


Disclaimer: Jo owns all. Some of you may catch a few similar (blatantly obvious) themes to The O.C. I got the DVD for Christmas, and I couldn't help but imagine Albus' first time being similar to Seth's. Anyway, the point is, don't sue.

Warning: There are both spoilers for DH in here (very very light), and graphic boyish discussion of sex. If you are sensitive to either, I suggest you skip this one.

Without further adieu...

* * *

Albus Potter was running up the dormitory stairs. It was an early Saturday morning of his sixth year, and the boy, just three months shy of his seventeenth birthday, was trying to get to his older brother's room as quickly as possible.

Clutching a stitch in his side, and adjusting his glasses, that were ever-so-slowly slipping down is sweaty nose, he climbed up the last three steps barring his path.

* * *

James Potter was casually relaxing on his messy dormitory bed. He would normally be sleeping at this ungodly hour of the day, but since he had Quidditch practice in an hour he was relaxing before it began.

He was flipping through a book entitled _Beater Maneuvers and Hand Grips_, discovering some moves that he thought he and his fellow beater Jared Willikins should try out when he heard, what could only be described as, a small elephant galloping up the stairs to his room.

Moments later, a disheveled Al poked his head in the room and breathlessly announced that he needed to speak with him. _Now._

Not altogether fussed with his spastic brother's odd behavior, he just ambled out of bed with a sigh and, book in hand, shuffled into the bathroom with his wheezing brother.

Lets have it be known that the Potter brothers did not always get along. In fact, in their younger years they had the habit of fighting constantly and rarely agreeing on anything except the fact that they both thought the other was a git. But in recent years, after both having survived Hogwarts for five years together, and under poorly-disguised threats from their mother (who thought it was close to a federal offense that one would fight with the only brother they had), the two had put aside their differences and had even become something resembling friends. They told each other the major turning points in their life and shared some of their everyday occurrences they felt the other would relate to. The first time James passed his Potions final without any help, he told his younger brother. The first time Albus had touched a breast (a mere six months ago), James and he had rejoiced together.

Which brings us back to the topic at hand.

"Breathe Al," James told his younger brother, while positioning himself on the sink, and turning a page in his book.

Al, looking harried, leaned on the toilet stall across from him, hand to his chest taking in deep gulps of air. Clearly James got all the athletic genes in the family line.

After a few more moments of wheezing, and gulping from Al, and a few more page flips from James, Al made an announcement.

"James," He said with an air of importance. He stood up and spread his arms to either side of him, as if he was presenting himself for judgment. "I am a man now."

James spared a glance at his brother, his mouth working furiously over the text in his book. Al was standing up straight and tall for once, his green eyes were bright and lively, and his normally pale skin (from spending too many hours in the library) was flushed.

"Oh," James said, not truly caring about what his brother was spouting out of his mouth now. The last time Al had started a conversation with this statement, it involved a lot of blushing, giggling and learning more about his brother's anatomy than he ever wanted to.

Crushed that his big announcement did not receive the response he felt it deserved, Al asked, "Don't you even want to know why?"

Without a pause, or glancing up from his book, James replied deadpan. "Not even remotely. Especially if it has anything to do with your nether regions."

Thrown off track for a moment Albus had to collect himself before responding. "I thought we agreed to never again speak of that."

No response from his older brother.

"Come on!" Albus nearly shouted. As an aside, Albus never shouted. James was pretty sure he had never heard his brother's voice go over a "near shout" in his entire life. Mostly Albus mumbled and tried to blend into the background.

Albus took his brother's distraction as a chance to aim a perfectly executed kick to James's exposed shin.

Rubbing the spot, James, still not looking up from his book, said, "Nice one Al."

Patience officially running out Al, took the book from his brother's fingers. "Stop reading! You are acting like . . . well, me." Albus closed the book gingerly and placed it next to his brother leg on the sink. Albus could never mistreat a book, a fact that his Aunt Hermione agreed with heartily.

Sufficiently peeved, James was ready to go into a tirade, about how he would never do such a thing to Albus when he reads his stupid books (although he has), and tell him to hurry the hell up with his stupid announcement (even though he didn't care).

But the next words out of Albus' mouth stopped him in his tracks.

"I had sex."

James's eyebrows shot into his hairline and his mouth fell open.

"_With a girl._" Albus specified for absolutely no reason.

James' mouth was finally catching up with his dazed brain. "Wh- "

"Lucy. Actually. Yeah." Albus cut across him, his eyes widening and giving a little crazed nod.

James had recovered from his shock, and did the only thing he could think of.

"Congratulations Al!" James gleefully embraced his brother and pounded him on the back. He pulled away and placed his hands on either side of Albus' face and shook him. "You _are _a man!"

Albus shook out of the embrace, blushed and looked at the tiled floor, glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose. His cheeks were flushed a deep red, but he couldn't quite help the devious smile that spread across his face. He looked, well, pleased.

"Well, well, well," James remarked, resuming his position on the sink and giving his brother his full attention.

"Yeah." Albus was blushing even more furiously now and the slightest giggle escaped his smiling lips.

"So . . . ?" James asked with interest, leaning forward ever-so-slightly, to hear the tale.

Albus looked up, smile gone, a look of pure puzzlement on his face. "What?"

With an exasperated sigh, James repeated the same question that Albus had asked him last year when he lost his own virginity. "How was it?"

"Oh!" Albus exclaimed catching on. Blushing again he looked at his bare feet. "Yeah . . . " His hand snaked around to the back of his head and gave it a good scratch. "It was . . . " Pause. "Umm . . . " He trailed off. Placing both of his hands on his narrow hips and looking somewhere over James's left shoulder.

"That bad huh?" James was smirking.

"No!" Albus felt the need to defend his honor and explain himself at the same time. "It was alright. I mean, I might've made a high pitched squeaking noise right at the end there, and I'm pretty sure the face I made when I . . . you know . . . entered wasn't exactly pretty, and . . . " Albus continued on, rambling for a few more moments of awkwardness before he exclaimed. "It sucked! I sucked! It was the most horrible, awkward, uncomfortable experience of my life and I'm pretty sure she hates me now." Albus covered his face with his hands and gave a long low pitched moan.

And then James did exactly what Albus did not want to hear.

He laughed. And laughed. And laughed.

"Thank you for your support." Albus said through his hands, sarcasm his mother was famous for rolling off his tongue.

James scooted off the sink, and went to sit near Albus on the floor, where he had sank down in his self-pity. "Hey." Chuckle. "It's okay." James took a deep breath to control his laughter and adopted a sincere voice. "Everyone sucks their first time."

"You didn't. You said that your first time was amazing."

"Yeah. I did say that." James looked away from his brother's accusing glare and flushed a little. "I lied."

"Pardon me? What?" Albus asked, forgetting for a moment his own horrible situation.

"It was pretty awful actually." James decided to spill his own horrible first time experience. He thought it would make Albus feel a little bit better. "It lasted for about two minutes. I couldn't get the rhythm down at first and eventually Casey had to, uh, take charge. So to speak." James was quite pink, and Al was now the one chuckling to himself.

"Well," Albus said, thinking of nothing else to say. Apparently he wasn't alone in the world.

"Yeah."

Albus took a deep breath and the two brothers sat in silence for a few moments.

"Teddy said that it was normal," James said at length. James had gone straight to (what he had always considered to be) his "older brother" to get sex advice the morning after the whole debacle had happened.

"Yeah?" Albus looked hopeful.

"Yeah," James said getting to his feet and leaning against the sink. Albus too ambled to his feet.

"I still feel awful," Albus said, but his triumphant smile was beginning to creep its way back onto his face. "I know for a fact that she didn't-" here he made a slightly obscene gesture with his hands that James took to mean, orgasm.

"Well, " James now was scratching the back of his head. "Did you . . . " He trailed off, uncertain as to how to phase this for his brother's delicate ears. "Did you . . . you know . . . take care of her afterward? Or before hand?"

"Should I have?" Albus was tilting his head to the side and squinting slightly.

James could help himself. "Sweet Merlin Albus!" His shook his head despairingly from side to side, astounded how his incredibly clever brother could be so stupid.

"Relax. I was only joking," Albus said with a wave of his hands. "I polished her off quite nicely afterward. It was only during the incredibly short sex that she was deprived."

"Good. She'll never shag you again if she doesn't get something out of it." James said wisely.

Al sighed. "I don't think she'll be shagging me again no matter how many times I manage to-" He faltered. "please her."

Chuckling at his (not-so) virginal brother's term, James shook his head and assured him otherwise. "Trust me. If she loves you enough to shag you once, she'll do it again."

Al merely shook his head. "I don't know. It was pretty awful."

"Think of it this way," James said placing a hand on Albus' shoulder. "You can only get better. Practice makes perfect."

"I just hope Lucy sees it that way."

"Speaking of, where is Lucy?" James asked, suddenly on guard, his grip tightening on his brother's bony shoulder.

"Downstairs," Albus said simply. "Asleep."

"What!" James' grasp had reached a point where Al cried out and wriggled out his grip. "You idiot! I don't understand how someone as smart as you could be so stupid!"

"What?" Albus nearly shouted, perplexed.

"What is she wakes up! Alone!" James was staring at his brother in shock, waiting for his words to sink in. "She'll never shag you again if that happens!" James shouted, patience gone.

"Shit," Albus breathed. There was a pause in which the two Potter boys just stared at each other. Mere seconds later, Albus was scrambling toward the bathroom door, and down the dormitory steps, moving faster than James had ever seen him.

James stood there in the bathroom for a few more moments. His little brother was officially a man.

He couldn't help it.

He smiled.

_FIN_

* * *

A.N 2: Blame the epic awesomosity of DHp2 for my revisitation of all my NG fics. I'm falling back in love with them all rather rapidly.

Don't forget to review!


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